Commentary

Laugh Riot: 4As, Upright Citizens Brigade Partner On Workshop Project

There’s something about a good laugh. For one thing, laughing can help prolong your life. Don’t take my word for it. There’s a whole body of research on the subject. Google it.

And maybe, happy, laughing people might be more apt to buy stuff. That’s just a well-educated guess, but my reasoning is partly based on the fact that two ad-marketing groups have recently teamed up with comedy organizations to help get the creative juices flowing.

Today, the 4As and improv comedy group Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) disclosed a partnership that will offer a new portfolio of workshops developed and led by UCB, which was founded by Amy Poehler, Matt Besser, Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh.

The 4As is UCB's first advertising industry partner.

The workshops are designed to help agency teams engage in faster, more effective brainstorming and (with any luck) help agency professionals get more comfortable thinking on their feet. Workshop specifics can be found here. Oh, and one small but important detail — the workshops are for 4As members only. Ha!

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Word of the 4As-UCB alliance follows last week’s news that WPP’s Kantar is teaming with Second City Works, the B2B arm of the well-known improv theater, to add some fun and fresh thinking to marketing plans. The basic idea: maybe consumers will be a little bit more engaged if you tickle their funny bone. That, in turn, just might lead to brand growth.

It makes sense, right?

I mean, the life of the party — the one everybody’s attracted to — is the person telling all the funny jokes. Not some Gloomy Gus off in the corner nursing a beer or a grudge.

Generally speaking, funny ads at the very least are pretty engaging. But it can be a slippery slope because what some people think is funny can be offensive to others. Or just plain stupid. On that note, I  can’t help but think of those recent DirecTV spots with people who love spilling hot coffee on themselves or slamming their heads against a ceiling beam. I guess they get an A for recall. But I’ll never sign up. 

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